A top athlete who took home a gold medal at the 2023 European Duathlon Championships has cited her strict vegan diet as her key to success.
Lisa Gawthorne, 41, completed the sprinting and cycling course in Caorle, Italy, in one hour, 11 minutes and 15 seconds - just three seconds ahead of fellow Brit Holly Woolford. The challenging high-speed race on March 18 saw hundreds of people take part in a 2.5km run followed by a 20km bike ride, before another mad 5000m dash to the finish line.
Lisa, from Formby, said: "I did have a slight problem in the final transition, because I couldn't get my helmet off! All my friends and family couldn't believe what was happening. Three women overtook me because I was stuck in my helmet for about a minute. I knew I had to run down the people who had overtaken me, which was very tough, but I literally ran like my life depended on it. It was close. The lady who finished silver was only three seconds behind me. So I had to put on a massive sprint for the big finish.
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"As soon as I was over the line I was sick because I put all my effort and energy and soul into it, and when they read my name on the tannoy it was a dream come true. I was crying tears of happy joy."
Lisa, who runs for Liverpool with the Pembroke Sefton Harriers, became interested in duathlon in 2016 after she took up cycling to help with a leg injury and discovered a love for the sport. Last year, she competed in the 2022 World Triathlon Duathlon Championships in Romania, winning bronze for Britain.
She said: "I was so ecstatic with that result last year, I didn't really think I could do much better. I've got two great coaches from Liverpool and they've both put me through a gruelling training regime, training two to three times a day, which is difficult. I've been putting in early mornings, training after work, and that put me in a very strong position to deliver that winning performance."
Along with intense training, Lisa said her vegan diet helped her make the most of her athletic abilities. Becoming a vegetarian at the age of six, she decided to cut out all animal products 20 years ago, and now runs her own business supplying supermarkets with vegan products.
She said: "I love to push the positives of the vegan movement and let people know it does deliver benefits in sports and fitness. My diet is very high in nutrients, lots of vegetables, grains, pulses and tofu, very high in protein. I feel that my sleep is brilliant because my digestive system isn't having to work hard breaking down animal products overnight. Digestion, immunity, sleep and recovery are the four areas I believe I had advantages on.
"Because we live in a world now where there are so many high profile vegan alternatives, times have changed. There's a massive amount of vegan protein out there that tastes just as good. Gone are the days when people think veganism is weak.
"20 years ago it was very tough. I was surviving on soy milk and tofu. My diet was very high-carb because there wasn't a lot of meat alternatives out there. Now the beautiful thing is all the main brands have invested in plant-based. You can get vegan Richmond sausages. I can even go down to my local Co-Op down the road and get vegan cakes, yoghurts, curries - it's so accessible now. It's definitely changed people's attitudes.
"When I first started my business people were saying to me 'are you sure you want to go down the route of tree-hugging, sandal-wearing hippies?'. Now I get supermarkets ringing me, asking for advice. It's almost gone from one extreme to the other!"
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